It is known in the art to provide a transmission for converting energy derived from an engine into torque that is useable to drive the wheels of an automobile, or other vehicle, in which the transmission is implemented. A clutch is generally coupled between the drive portions and the driven portions to engage and disengage the driven portion. Many such systems use a single clutch to engage a variable number of gear pairs, each pair having a different gearing ratio. Other systems may implement a fairly complex gearing system. A disadvantage with such a conventional transmission system is that when the clutch apparatus eventually wears out, it is fairly expensive to repair the transmission. Such repairs are often included in the initial warranty of a vehicle in which the transmission is implemented, which increases the overall cost the vehicle manufacturer must absorb as an ongoing cost of doing business.
It would be desirable to reduce the initial cost of manufacturing a transmission as well as to increase the useful life of a transmission such that the overall costs associated with the transmission are reduced. It is further desirable to reduce the number of machined parts for further cost reduction purposes, along with decreasing the overall weight of the transmission in order to improve drive performance and fuel economy.